Subtle Mind Excercise - Reflection

Throughout the Subtle Mind exercise, placing the emphasis on the breathing helped to calm my mind and helped me to feel less stress or negative thoughts.  Following the completion of the exercise, I continued to feel calmer and my neck muscles felt more relaxed during the day.  I will continue to practice focusing on my breathing as a way to help create calm thoughts and relaxation.  For me, during the day it is sometimes difficult to keep my thoughts focused and calm since there are often many distractions and activities that require my attention.

The difference between the Loving Kindness exercise and the Subtle Mind, are that one focuses on loving oneself and others, being kind and thinking positive and the other focuses on reflecting on calming the busy mind.  The narrator mentioned “tame the busy mind”.  I think this is so important, it is difficult to focus on daily activities, remain calm and positive with a racing mind that has a constant inundated of thoughts, some of which may be negative or unnecessary. Breathing exercises are helpful, because they can be practiced throughout the day to regain control of the mind.

Throughout contemplative practice, one can train the mind to develop psychospiritually.  Subtle and still minds are an essential component of integral health and life. 

Personally, I have found yoga and relaxation techniques such as breathing and visualization techniques to help achieve a mind-body connection.  Incorporating these practices and techniques has created a stronger connection.  On days that I practice yoga and relaxation techniques, I feel less stressed, less muscle tension and experience a calmer mind throughout the day.

Loving Kindness Excercise - Thougths & Reflections

Throughout the loving kindness exercise, I felt relaxed and reflected on several individuals that I need to focus my attention on to ensure that I am treating them with loving kindness and it also reminded me of the importance of loving oneself. My mind became more quiet and calm throughout the exercise, as I let go of negative thoughts and focused only on positive thoughts. At the end of the exercise, I felt more focused on the positive aspects of my life, which included my family and friends who are always there offering love and support.

I think the exercise is beneficial; to remind an individual that it is important to love oneself and project loving kindness to others. It is important to focus on loving kindness or re-direct negative thoughts or feelings which can cause a person to have negative psychological and physical conditions or illnesses. I love the idea of getting back what we give, which the author mentions at the beginning of the session. I think this idea is so important to remember, because if one is a negative person he/she tends to attract or more readily accept negative feelings on a regular basis. Those who are positive and project love and kindness to others and often think of others feelings and emotions, tend to strive for more positive thoughts or feelings, have a calm mind and greater sense of psychological well-being.

Mental workouts help to train or retrain the brain to shift focus or redirect certain thoughts or behaviors. I plan to continue to implement mental workouts to help focus on more positive aspects of my life and re-direct negative thoughts and feelings. Also, I think that incorporating mental workouts into my life will help to calm my mind, which is sometimes racing with thoughts about daily activities or responsibilities which can create stress.

Welcome to My Heath & Wellness Journey

In 2013, I began my journey to wellness by changing my diet and focusing on my health.  At that time I was unhealthy and at my all time highest weight, I knew I had to make some changes.  I began reading about plant-based diets and that changed my life!  I became a vegan and began to immediately lose weight and my physical wellbeing began to change. 

My journey is still ongoing, I have chosen this year to focus on incorporating more exercise into my routine.  I have set a goal this year to prepare to complete a 5 K this fall!

My Journey to Psychological, Spiritual and Physical Wellbeing

Based on my reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10

Based on my reflections, and on a scale of 1 to 10

(ten being optimal wellbeing):

I would rate my physical wellbeing as an 8.  I have been on a weight loss and fitness journey for over a year now.  Last January, I decided to completely change my diet and become a vegan.  It has been a fantastic journey, so far.  I plan to continue to make efforts to work on my physical wellbeing by continuing to lose weight and incorporate more exercise into my daily routines.

I would rate by spiritual and psychological wellbeing both as a 7.  With the everyday stress in life, I sometimes find it difficult to focus on the spiritual aspects of my life and avoid becoming overwhelmed.  I recently incorporated yoga and meditation into my exercise routine to help focus on both of those aspects. 

I have seen substantial improvements to my mood and psychological well-being on the days that I practice yoga and meditation.  I have a greater sense of being centered and calm.  Also, it helps me to relax which allows me to focus on the important things in my life which are my overall wellbeing and my family.  

Goals for physical, spiritual, and psychological wellbeing:

My goal for my physical wellbeing is to create a more consistent work out regimen.  I made the goal this year to participate in a 5K this fall.  At this point, I have made the progression from walk to jog! However, I have a long way to go before I will be able to run for distance.

My goal for spiritual wellbeing is to become more focused on the positive aspects of my life and avoid negativity.  On a daily basis it can be difficult to avoid negative thoughts and emotions that can create turmoil for one's spiritual wellbeing.

My psychological goal is to continue focusing on addressing exercise and wellness activities that can help reduce anxiety and stress. 

Plans to implement several goals and build upon my current routines:

1. I am planning to implement breathing exercises to help with stress and anxiety.  I have been reading about the benefits and success of utilizing these exercises throughout the day to help calm the mind and relax during stressful situations.

2. Also, I have begun incorporating Zumba into my exercise routine to help lose weight and become more physically fit to hopefully achieve my goal to lose an additional 20 pounds and run in a 5K this fall.

3. I am planning to continue to try to redirect my negative thoughts to more positive thoughts to help with spiritual wellbeing.

Relaxation exercise experience:

The relaxation exercise offered me the opportunity to focus on my breathing and become more relaxed and calm.  I have practiced similar breathing and visualization exercises in the past and have found them to be beneficial.  I think there is a great benefit to practicing breathing and visualization techniques to help create a calmer mind, which can help those who have a tendency to become stressed and anxious due to a racing mind or inability to relax from a stressful state.  As part of my wellness plan, I intend to incorporate similar exercises into my routine to help with focus and as part of a stress management plan.